76ers Address Tyrese Maxey’s Struggles vs. Boston Celtics
76ers #76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves trailing in the 2023 NBA Playoffs for the first time as they head into their Game 4 matchup against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Since their Game 1 upset on the road, which featured a 45-point showing from the veteran guard James Harden, the Sixers have gone cold offensively. Harden’s last 28 shots from the field have generated just ten points.
Tyrese Maxey has struggled as well, as he’s scored just 13 points in each of the last two outings after a 26-point showing against the Celtics in Game 1.
Entering the second-round series against the Celtics, the Sixers knew that Maxey had a history of struggling against Boston.
Since entering the NBA, Maxey has faced the Celtics ten times during the regular season. He’s averaged just eight points in those outings.
While Maxey’s playing time was limited early on in his career, the young guard wasn’t much better with more of a significant role this season, as he’s averaged just ten points in a total of 125 minutes against Boston this year.
What can the Sixers do to get the young guard going?
“Just get him the ball more,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. “He’s got to get the ball more. I got on him in the first quarter, two or three times where he had the ball and gave it up there. One time, I think Jalen had it at the top, and he just stood in the corner. I asked him if that was Kobe Bryant, do you think Kobe is gonna stand? No, he’s gonna come get the ball, and you’re one of our scorers. You got to act like that all the time. In his defense, it’s hard. He really doesn’t get the ball, and we have to get him more involved.”
After taking 24 shots in Game 1, Maxey has attempted just 30 shots over the next two games. It was apparent his attempts would go down when the Sixers’ scoring leader Joel Embiid would return to the floor, but Rivers and the Sixers are encouraging Maxey to be more aggressive and create scoring opportunities for himself.
“You can’t be reckless driving into [Robert Williams],” Joel Embiid explained. “You can make some, but with how athletic he is, there is a chance he’s going to block it or change the shot. I think [Tyrese] just got to stay calm and play at a better pace instead of attacking and going fast. I think that’s been really an issue. Like I said, same thing for him; there’s no panic. He’s got to settle down. He missed a lot of wide-open shots today. I tell him every game, you got to find a way to take 12 to 13 threes a game. That’s how good of a shooter I think he is. He knows how good of a shooter he is. He just needs to keep being confident and find it.”
Throughout the entire 2022-2023 season, Embiid has encouraged Maxey to be more aggressive, specifically from beyond the arc. As Maxey has established himself as one of the NBA’s most consistent three-point shooters throughout the season, the Sixers want him to put his shooting to work against the Celtics as they’ve struggled to counter Boston’s deep attack over the last two games.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Embiid pointed out. “Down 2-1. It’s easier to sit here and be like, ‘Oh yea, it’s fine it’s fine.’ We got to figure it out. You can’t go down 3-1. You got to find a way to win Game 4. One game at a time and go from there.”
Maxey, Embiid, and the Sixers are set to face the Celtics for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. With the series headed back to Boston this week, the Sixers want to make sure they don’t fall into a 1-3 hole before hitting the road again.